The Pikachu case
by kinzies
Summary: Kid's Heist goes awry and now Conan must either accept the impossible or admit that maybe he is just a little feverish. Ash just wants to know why these weird people have never heard of Pokemon. no pairings aside from ShinRan will they-wont they.
1. Prologue

"Man. What a storm." Ash looked back to the dark gray clouds as he and his friends had just made it into the lobby of the nearest pokemon center soaked to the core and dripping water all over the tiled floor. "Guess we're staying here tonight."

Pikachu made a noise of agreement and gave a quick shake, getting Ash all wet all over again. Ash let out a noise of surprise and tried to back away only to slip on the now soaked floor.

"Ash!" Dawn and Brock cried out as he went down and hit the floor with a sharp cry of pain.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out, moving over to make sure Ash was okay.

"Don't worry about me Pikachu. It didn't hurt that bad." He assured as Brock helped him back to his feet.

"Oh my!" Came the familiar voice of the Center's Nurse Joy. "I'm so sorry. I told Chansey to put the rug out before it rained again."

"Never fear my darling!" Brock was suddenly upfront in center and holding the nurse's hand. "Ash isn't hurt, but my heart absolutely aches for you!" A sharp jab to his side from Crogunk's poison jab had him sliding down to the floor. "-As well as a few… other places…" He stated as his pokemon pulled him away from the confused nurse.

"Sorry about that-Brock can get really weird around a pretty girl." Ash laughed nervously, hoping that she wouldn't get upset at his friend. Nurse Joy waved it off good naturedly the way all the other Nurse joy's usually did and Ash felt relieved.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm concerned about you though-that was a nasty fall young man." She looked at Ash intently.

"Oh. That was nothing-I'm fine." He assured her. Nurse Joy looked skeptic so Ash prompted for a subject change. "That weather really came out of nowhere." He looked back towards the clear double doors.

"Yes. It wasn't even supposed to rain today, so the fact it blew in so quickly is a little strange." She commented. "You kids had better stay here for the night."

"Thanks! My name's Ash-from Pallet town." Ash introduced himself.

"Pika-Pikachu." Pikachu spoke up, jumping back up on Ash's shoulder.

"I'm Dawn-From Twinleaf Town." Dawn stated. "And you already met Brock."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Nurse Joy smiled at them, bowing her head slightly. "Ash, are you sure you don't want me to get you an ice pack or something?" Ash shook his head.

"Really, I'm fine." He turned her down. "I fall down all the time." The look on the nurse's face told Ash that was the wrong thing to say. Nurse Joy opened her mouth to say something but sighed instead.

"Well, I should take a look at your pokemon for you while you're here, at least."

"Could you?" Ash asked happily. "I know Pikachu could use a checkup." At the Nurse's nod and he turned towards his little partner. "I'll be right out here, okay buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily before jumping over to Nurse Joy's shoulder. The Nurse smiled at the pokemon and then took all the other pokeballs before she headed off behind two double doors. Ash turned back to the windows and watched the storm raging outside.

"It's really coming down out here, you know?"

"Yeah." Dawn agreed. "It was really weird how it started out of nowhere. It wasn't even cloudy."

"And Nurse Joy said it wasn't even supposed to rain today." Brock commented. He was about to say something else but never got the chance as someone dashed into the pokemon center and immediately crashed on the floor.

"Oh no!" Nurse Joy moved over to the newcomer, having returned from the back rooms. "Are you alright? I'll do something about that floor right away."

"It's...fine." Came the voice of the young man sprawled out on the ground, soaking wet and clutching something tightly to his chest that he'd covered with a jacket. "But please-Conan."

"Conan?" Nurse Joy blinked, the three kids and their Pokemon looking on in interest. This gave the man time to recover and he sat up again, revealing the thing he'd been shielding was infact a child baring a striking resemblance to himself. "Oh! Goodness! Is he alright."

"This is Conan-He has a fever." He explained. "My name is-Kudou Shinichi."

"Well Shinichi, you've certainly come to the right place-I'll treat your little brother immediately." Nurse Joy knelt down to take the unconscious boy from him and disappearing behind some double doors.

"Thanks. But he's my little cousin." Shinichi stated. Brock offered a hand to help the other get to his feet. He was a good several inches taller than the pokemon breeder meaning he had to be a few years older.

"You okay?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, just peachy." Shinichi sighed. "There really should be a sign there. Someone could get hurt."

"Don't worry, Chansey will put the rug back." Ash said. "The same thing happened to me just before you got here. My Name's Ash."

"I'm Dawn."

"And I'm Brock."

"Pika Pikachu."

"Nice to meet you a-" He faltered, gaze falling on Pikachu. "-all"

"Something wrong?" Ash asked. Shinichi shook his head quickly.

"N-Not at all." He was quick to deny but faltered. "Actually. Everything is wrong."


	2. A Chansey situation

Despite the pounding headache and slightly blurred vision, Edogawa Conan showed up at the Beika Museum for the latest Kid Heist. He'd been specifically told not to attend if he still had a fever by Doctor Areida the day before but Conan couldn't help himself. It wasn't even the thief that had his interest-he couldn't care less about what Kid got up to on most occasions-his only concern was the jewel that Kid would be targeting-The Emerald Curse. Historic superstition said the jewel was-as the name suggested-cursed, and that anyone the touched the jewel with the bare hands would disappear from earth. Of course, that was just the superstition and Conan, secretly being the famous high school detective Kudou Shinichi, knew better than to put much stock into a superstition. However, Historic fact stated that anyone whose bare hand had come in contact with the jewel had mysteriously disappeared.

Supposedly, no one had dared try to touch it in hundreds of years until last week when one of the workers that was helping with setting the exhibit up touched the jewel to prove the superstition was fake. Eyewitness accounts from the other workers stated they'd seen some kind of light envelope the young worker before he too had disappeared. It was mystery he just had to solve.

Conan rubbed his eyes and stared down at the paper in his hand and sighed. Reading maps was so much easier when his vision wasn't blurring in and out of focus. He'd been staring at the map for forty minutes straight trying to decide if maybe there was a secret room or something nearby where the unfortunate worker was standing at the time of his abduction. The fever had to be preventing him from seeing a clear link because there was no way a jewel swallowed a human. He grit his teeth and stared down the map again, his blue eyes raking very slowly over every room on the blueprint.

This was getting him nowhere but investigating the room where the incident occurred was out of the question as he knew that Sonoko and Ran were there awkwardly by Jirokichi's side while he and Nakamori argued heatedly over the ethics. Strictly speaking, Conan was supposed to be at home, in bed, and not anywhere near the excitement.

"Find anything?" A voice right by his ear made him jump and he looked up into the face of the famed Kaitou Kid disguised in riot gear. The disguise may have fooled the task force but it certainly wasn't fooling him.

"What do you want?" He asked, eyes flat with annoyance.

"I overheard Ran-san telling Jirokichi that you were out sick in bed today." The thief stated. "But you don't seem to be in bed at all." he chided. Conan rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for your concern," she said sarcastically. "But I'm fine." His vision blurred again and he shook his head-making the headache worse by accident.

"You are a little flushed, are you sure you're up to this?" At the detective's silence Kid changed the subject. "Would you like to see it? The Gem, I mean?"

"Don't tell me you already have it." Conan snapped. Kid shook his head.

"Detective, you couldn't pay me to touch that thing. I'm here for something else." Conan rolled his eyes at the answer.

"And you expect me to believe you can get me to the exhibit without getting us both caught."

"On my honor." Kid promised. Conan sighed, knowing he'd regret this.

"Alright Kid, if you're not out to steal it then fine. Take me to the gem." His voice reflected just how much he didn't believe him. The thief smirked.

"Permission to borrow your identity? The persuasion you have over the police would have that room cleared in seconds flat." He requested. Conan's eyes narrowed sharply. Was this some kind of angle? Kid would never be so upfront about it if it were but there had to be something Kid wasn't telling him. Like the real reason he scheduled a heist dealing with a 'cursed' jewel.

"I get it." It finally hit him. "You want to investigate the disappearance too. Which means you have a personal interest in this case."

"Even feverish, you're mind is still sharp." Kid sighed, shaking his head. "The worker was a friend of a friend. So I'm looking into it." Still, there was something Kid wasn't saying. It irked the small detective but he supposed he'd find out in due time.

"Fine. You can use me as a disguise. But just for a little while." He pulled out his trusty bowtie and and the phone from his right pocket before dialing the homicide inspector to request a favor.

ooooooOOOOOooooo

Three hours later Conan and Kid dressed as Shinichi were standing in the empty exhibit room. Kid had been subject to mask test but seeing as he didn't need a mask with this disguise he passed it easily and now had an angry red blotch on his left cheek.

There was nothing that stood out about the gem other than it's shocking green color. The plaque positioned on the display case detailed a brief history of the emerald and nothing about the room struck Conan as odd. His first thought had been that maybe the worker stole the real jewel when he made a spectacle of disappearing after touching it but jewel had been checked since then-it was genuine.

"You're functioning fairly well for having a fever-the last time I saw you with a fever you could barely stand." Kid commented, keeping a close eye on the smaller.

"I had some medicine before Ran left the agency-It'll probably start wearing off soon." Conan responded.

"Well, tell me if you start feeling faint."

"I'm fine." The tone of Conan's voice told him to drop it. "Did the victim have Misaki-san have any enemies?" He switched to case mode and Kid shook his head. Such a one track mind.

"We all have enemies, detective." He responded vaguely, causing Conan to grit his teeth in annoyance.

"Any that would want him dead?" He clarified.

"I didn't know him personally, remember." Kid pointed out, moving over to the display case of the jewel. "It doesn't look like anything but a normal emerald."

"That's because it is." Conan said insistently, still looking around the room for something out of place. "You can't tell me you believe in the curse." He gave the thief a look that let him know just how harshly he was being judged.

"According to legend, anyone that touched it disappeared-hundreds of years later and some underpaid worker decides to test it and supposedly disappears in front of two other workers?" Kid started. Conan just rolled his eyes, not even remotely impressed.

"So it's an abduction, or perhaps Misaki-san stole jewel himself. Either way, it's definitely not a curse." He said stubbornly. "If something like a curse could be real then there'd be no need for detectives."

"Spoken like a true critic." Kid grumbled. Conan growled.

"Open the case. I'll prove it to you." He challenged. Kid looked at him like he'd gone insane.

"No way. I may not like you all that much detective, but I don't want you to disappear."

"Stop being so superstitious!" He demanded harshly before lapsing into a coughing fit. Kid watched him carefully and was about to suggest he head home but the door opened and both thief and detective spun around like a deer caught in headlights. The agreement Shinichi had worked out was a full hour to investigate the display room undisturbed. There was no way it'd already been an hour.

The man that came in wore a dark gray coat, had a ridiculous handlebar mustache/goatee and a gun. The gun is what had Conan's attention coupled with the fact it was pointing at him.

"Hand over the jewel." He demanded, not bothering to complete his threat. Conan looked up at Kid expectantly and noted his teeth had grit and there was a clear anger in his eyes. He knew this man? "Hand the jewel to the kid and have him slowly hand it to me."

"A little early, aren't you?" Kid taunted, lifting the display case up and off the pedestal. The man smirked.

"I thought you'd strike early Kid." Conan looked between the two and felt irritation starting to build at the obvious information he was missing. "Now hurry up, or I'll shoot."

Kid was hesitating, the superstition still fresh on his mind. He knew that Conan wasn't wearing gloves and would have to handle the jewel barehanded. Conan held his hand out, this would be easy. He'd hand the jewel over, nail the guy with a sleeping dart and have Kid call the police. But Kid was still hesitating.

With another eyeroll, Conan stepped up on the glass casing now on the floor and grabbed the jewel. For a moment he felt victorious because he'd just proved that superstition was fake. Then it happened.

It started to glow and vibrate, becoming too warm to touch. He dropped it but the glowing green light had already started to engulf him.

"Conan-kun!" He heard Kid shouting and then what was unmistakably a gunshot. He knew because he felt it pierce right through his shoulder. He felt someone grip him around the middle and then everything went black.

oooOOOOooo

A slow and steady beeping was the first thing Conan was aware of, next was the ventilation mask attached to his face and a strong scent of iodine-Hospital. His mind pieced together quickly. What happened? He could barely remember anything-there was that light and then-He sat up suddenly-yanking the mask off and wincing against the pain in his left shoulder. Where was Kid?

An alarm started beeping insistently and Conan willed it to shut up. His head was already killing him from the cold, he didn't need this.

"Chansey!" Came a high pitched voice he didn't recognize. Chansey? He turned towards the voice and froze-Some giant pink egg-shaped thing was headed right for him. He winced-waiting for impact.

"Chansey! Chansey-Chansey Chanse!" He had no idea what it was saying but it seemed to be scolding him. Was it upset with him for pulling that mask off? As if it read his mind, the pink thing reached over and tried to force him to lay back down.

"Ouch!" Conan cried out, nursing his injured shoulder.

"Chansey!" It exclaimed in alarm.

"It's okay." Conan groaned. "Just be careful with that arm." He paused, realising that he'd just responded as if it could understand him.

"Chansey!" It said happily. Maybe it could understand. "Chansey-chanse!" It patted the pillow, still trying to get him to lay down.

"I don't have time for that-I have to find-" He didn't get to finish as his cough came back with avengence-still sick then.

"Chansey!" It exclaimed again, hurrying over to a cabinet and shuffling through it for a moment. When it came back it had a glass bottle and medicine spoon in its hand. Conan didn't like where this was going.

"Look-I appreciate your concern but I really need to find-" He started to climb out of the bed only to be pushed back down as soon as the pink thing had set the medicine down, all the while shouting the same word at him. Maybe it was the fever but Conan could have sworn it was saying that he needed to stay in bed until he was better.

"Like I said-!" It was forcing him back down again and proving to be a lot stronger than it looked. "I have a case! I can't stay in bed!" Arguing with what it probably a hallucination. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

"Chaaaaanseeeey chaaaaaaanseeeeey." It started to chant and very suddenly Conan felt extremely drowsy as he sank back into bed.

"But-murder…." He started to drift off-asleep before he even fully hit the pillow.

oooOOOOooo

Conan woke up with a start and winced as he upset his shoulder again and looked around. He was still in that same room that pink thing was in but it didn't appear this time. Maybe it was a hallucination after all.

"Oh hey, you're awake!" A voice sounded beside him. He turned and noticed a kid no older than eleven was watching him. And yet another hallucination seemed to be perched happily on the kid's shoulder-yellow this time with rosy cheeks and looking somewhat like a mouse with pointy ears. What kind of hospital was this? "You had everyone really worried, you know. They'll be glad to hear you're better."

"Pika!" The yellow hallucination mirrored. Maybe he should go back to bed.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Conan said bitterly, nursing his shoulder-at some point someone had put his arm in a sling. "Where am I?"

"Oh, that's easy! You're at the pokemon center!" The boy said happily. "You got here two days ago during a storm and have been sleeping ever since. Nurse Joy said that you hurt your arm pretty bad and not to move it too much."

Conan rolled his eyes. This nurse joy had obviously neglected to tell this kid that he'd been shot but of course she would. That's not something a kid his age should know. "Pokemon center?" He zeroed in on the term he wasn't familiar with.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Your cousin said you guys had never heard of Pokemon. Pikachu's a pokemon-an electric type."

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse looking thing agreed. So it wasn't a hallucination after all. He wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.


	3. Calling a Truce

The third time Conan woke up at the pokemon center he had officially decided he wasn't dead. If he had died then there was no way he'd still be trapped in such a pathetic excuse for a body-plus he had a heartbeat and a pulse as the beeping machine beside him was constantly reminding him. He could handle the beeping but he was infinitely glad the pink pokemon that had been in the room the first time he woke up was still nowhere to be seen. The kid that had been his room earlier-Ash-had explained these 'pokemon' to the best of his ability.

Which meant that Conan was left more confused than ever. He could tell by how excited and happy the kid was that he was very passionate about this but his explanations left something to be desired as he used the terms 'whoosh', 'whoa' and 'Man!' a little too often to make any sense. After Ash and pikachu left the room Conan collapsed back on the bed and tried to work through the events as he knew they had happened. At some point he fell back asleep.

He sat up on the third attempt to wake up and rubbed at his eyes, being careful not to move the injured shoulder too much. This time a familiar face was sitting in the room and it nearly made him jump.

"Jeez. Where have you been?" He demanded. The other person shrugged and got to his feet to start helping the younger get down from the bed.

"Researching." He stated, disentangling Conan from a few left over cords. "Got you a present." If Conan hadn't known any better he'd have said that Kid had just pulled the book out of thin air but he did know better and merely rolled his eyes at the theatrics but took the offering anyway.

"Sherlock Holmes?" He blinked at the title on the cover. "Thanks!" He opened it up and went straight to chapter one.

"It's a different version than you're used to." Kid warned. "Same Concept but Holmes and Watson both have Pokemon." Conan was only half listening though as he was being quickly pulled into London in the late 1880s-or something similar.

"That kid, Ash-kun told me I'd been asleep for two days. If that's so then you've had plenty of time to ask about Misaki-san." Conan looked up from the book. Kid sighed, recognizing that tone.

"Only you, Detective." He shook his head. "Actually, I did ask about our missing person but Brock-One of Ash's friends-said that they travel around a lot so they don't know of anyone that turned up recently. Even the nurse said that only a few pokemon trainers have been through here."

"Pokemon Trainers? I'm assuming that means people that train these 'Pokemon'?"

"Bingo!" Kid confirmed as Conan turned the page of the book he'd been given. "Brock, Ash, and Dawn are all pokemon trainers. From what I understand, becoming a pokemon trainer is like a rite of passage. When a kid turns ten they're allowed to choose their first pokemon from a fire, grass, or water type. " He relayed to the detective that didn't seem to be paying any attention to what he had to say. "Oi."

"I'm listening." Conan snapped, forced to look up from the book.

"...How is it?" Kid changed the subject. They could discuss the customs of this world later.

"It's different-and I need to look up a few things but it's still Sherlock Holmes-I guess." He decided. Kid nodded, obviously taking that to mean that Conan liked the present. "That aside-we do need to find out if Misaki-san did come here."

"You have a one track mind." Kid waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. We'll try and find our missing person but in the meantime perhaps we should look into the Cursed Emerald." Conan made a face. He hated to admit it, but it seemed like the legend had been true after all. Not that he'd admit so out loud. However, that reminded him.

"...Who was that man?" He asked after awhile. "At the museum." Kid watched him carefully before smiling slightly.

"Like I said Detective, we all have our enemies." He responded vaguely.

"But we don't all have enemies that want to kill us." Conan pointed out with some amount irritation. "And yours shot me-I think I deserve an explanation."

"Well, when you put it that way-" Kid started. "Yours almost barbequed me. I think _I_ deserve and explanation."

"They weren't even part of this!" Conan countered heatedly.

"Excuse me." Ash's voice sounded from the doorway, Conan and Kid turned to face him in alarm. Their faces had to have given away that they were talking about something secret but Ash gave no indication that he'd noticed at all. "Nurse Joy sent me to ask if you guys were hungry." He didn't seem to have heard any of it. Conan and Kid exchanged glances.

"Uh-Yeah." Kid spoke up before Conan could refuse. If it had been two days since they arrived then it was probably time to eat.

"Great! Dinner's in the cafeteria-you can sit with us if you want." He took off again and Conan and Kid both sighed in relief.

"Shall we, Detective?"

oooOOOOooo

There was something up with those two. Ash thought it was obvious but they certainly didn't seem like bad people just highly secretive. Shinichi was nice enough but it seemed to him that Conan didn't like strangers much. He hadn't had a long conversation with the kid but if Ash didn't know any better he'd have said that Conan hadn't wanted to talk to him. He made his way back to the cafeteria and back to the table he and his friends were using. He settled down next to Pikachu who made a noise of greeting and rubbed up against him. He petted Pikachu's head and thought back to the conversation Conan and Shinichi had been having-seemed serious.

"Well, what did they say?" Dawn pressed once he was seated, pulling him out of his resolve.

"They said they'd be in for dinner." Ash reported before starting to dig in. "Although, they were talking about something-they might be awhile." He set Pikachu's food dish down on the padded bench so he could reach it easier and petted him again.

"Pika!" the little pokemon said happily, digging into his food.

"Was it something important?" Brock asked. Ash just shrugged, it had certainly seemed that way.

"They mentioned something about an emerald and a curse." He offered. "And I guess they're still looking for someone else that wound up here. They're a strange pair for sure but I don't think they're bad." He thought he'd clarify.

"I didn't say I thought they were. But something isn't right-Shinichi and Nurse Joy were talking pretty seriously the other night-and don't forget they called in officer Jenny." Brock said seriously.

"Don't worry about it Brock-I just saw them and Conan certainly seemed to be better." Ash paused though, thinking about the parts of conversation he'd overheard. He had to have heard it wrong. "But there was one thing I overheard…"

"What was it?" Dawn pressed.

"Piplup piplup!" Piplup echoed. Ash sat back, trying to think if he'd heard the conversation correctly-there was no way Conan had said that he'd been shot right? He must have gotten a shot.

"Well… I think they said something about Conan having some kind of shot."

"Conan was shot!?" Brock and Dawn reacted immediately. Ash leaned further away from the two, Pikachu following the movement.

"Well I-"

"Guess there's no denying it now." Shinichi had emerged from Conan's room, the small boy having followed with a book tucked under his good arm. "Yes. Conan was shot just before we ended up here."

"That explains why officer Jenny was called. How are you feeling Conan? We were all really worried." Brock asked. Conan took a small step behind Shinichi when he was directly addressed.

"Oi." Shinichi stepped away from Conan. "Why don't you try being social." He aimed at the kid. "You'll have to excuse him-he's a little skittish around new people."

"That's okay!" Dawn assured. "He must have been through a lot so I'm not surprised! You can sit by me if you want." Conan looked up at Shinichi who raised an eyebrow at him. After a moment Conan finally decided to climb into the seat by Dawn.

"Piplup!" The little penguin pokemon greeted Conan enthusiastically. Conan pulled away at first but calmed down enough that he sat stiffly by Dawn. Something was definitely up with Conan.

"It's alright if you're a little shy Conan. We won't pressure you." She assured him.

"Thank you…" He said timidly.

"So Shinichi-you mentioned the other day you were looking for someone named Junpei Misaki, isn't that right?" Brock turned to the other. Conan's interest perked up but before he could say anything Shinichi spoke first.

"That's right-see where we're from there was a gem called the cursed emerald-the legend surrounding it said that if anyone touched it with their bare hands they'd disappear from the world-Misaki thought it was just a superstition and decided to test it-no one's seen him since. Which is where I came in-I was investigating the disappearance-Conan was helping since he likes to play detective."

"So then, that must mean you're a detective, right?" Brock asked.

"Man, that's so cool! How many cases have you solved?" Ash asked excitedly. Conan seemed annoyed.

"Five hundred sixty-eight." He responded coolly on Shinichi's behalf.

"Whoa! That's a lot!" Ash exclaimed, impressed.

"Yeah, but he doesn't hold a candle to Sherlock Holmes. Isn't that right, Shinichi-niichan?" He was positively glaring at the other. Shinichi sighed.

"Well that's true-no one is as good as the legendary detective." He conceded which seemed to appease Conan for the time being. "Conan wants to be just like him and he's well on his way." the sarcasm in the other's voice suggested that maybe that was a bad thing but Conan didn't seem to notice-in fact he seemed pleased.

"Anyway, we were thinking that since you had someone to look for and there's really no way to know where he went then maybe you guys should travel around with us for awhile. It can dangerous to go through the woods without a pokemon partner." Brock offered, the other two nodded.

"It wouldn't be any trouble!" Dawn stated. "Really, the more the merrier."

"We appreciate the offer, really-but I think Conan should stay here for a few more nights. Just to make sure he's fully over that cold."

"Hey, no problem. We're not in any hurry." Ash stated.

"And a few more days of rest would definitely do that injury some good.." Brock pointed out. Conan rolled his eyes.

"It's just my shoulder. I'm fine." He stated.

"Fine my foot!" An angry voice sounded behind them. "If you don't take care of that injury it could get infected. Your cousin is right, you need to stay here for a few more days." Her tone was final and her hands on her hips.

"And of course I'll be happy to stay here with you, Nurse Joy." Brock was suddenly by her side. "And you can take care of my aching-" He let out a sharp noise of pain- "Back side…" He slid to the ground and Crogunk started to pull him away from the Nurse.

"Jeez. And I thought Kogoro was bad." Conan mumbled after a moment of shock. Luckily, the nurse didn't seem remotely fazed by Brock's advances and just handed Conan a glass of juice with a bendy-straw.

"That being said. After dinner I want you to come see me to change those bandages, understand?" Nurse Joy demanded. Conan nodded and took small sip of juice before offering her a bright little kid smile.

"I promise!" He went back to sipping his juice.

"Let us know if your shoulder starts hurting, okay?" Dawn encouraged. Conan only nodded. Shinichi sighed.

"Please forgive him-he hasn't learned his manners yet." He shot a look at Conan who didn't seem fazed at all. "Conan-kun. It's rude not to respond to people that are talking to you."

"No need to worry. I'm sure he's just tired." Dawn put her hands up in gesture to signify she hadn't meant any harm. Conan continued to ignore him and only opened up his book again.

"So how about it? After Conan's all ready to go you should travel with us." Ash changed the subject and Shinichi and Conan looked at each other, trying to decide the best course of action.

"Why not. It could turn up something interesting. Right Conan-kun?" Shinichi asked the smaller. Conan just blinked owlishly at Shinichi as if asking why he was asking him.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." He offered before turning the page in his book.

oooOOOooo

After dinner and Conan's bandage had been changed he and Kid had been showed to a room they would be staying in. Conan was glad to be out of the hospital like room and climbed immediately onto the twin-sized bed and opened his book.

Kid went immediately to the window and pulled the curtains back to reveal the small balcony. All things considered the room was nice and he appreciated all the hospitality they'd both been shown during this very confusing time. He was also glad that Ash, Brock, and Dawn had been so accepting of his story of how they'd gotten here. However, it also told him that his story wasn't the craziest thing they'd ever heard. But then again this was a land filled with magical creatures.

He turned back to the detective that was now engrossed in his book and let out a sigh. He seemed mostly together and calm but the way he kept reading that book, eyes racing across the page and knuckles white from holding it so tightly told the thief just how uncomfortable the detective really was-he was desperate to find something constant in his life-something he could depend on and Kid supposed that Sherlock Holmes filled that role.

"So. I guess we're going to travel with those kids." He opted to break the silence. Conan looked up from the book and then turned the page again.

"Guess so." He agreed. "Think we can get along for that long?" Their earlier conversation had nearly become an argument and that might be a problem later. Could they handle traveling together considering their real identities. After all, by name, they were meant to be enemies.

"Perhaps we should call a truce-I won't ask you about your enemies and you don't ask about mine." Kid offered. "We both know that's going to cause the most friction." Conan wanted to protest-the words were right at the tip of his tongue but who knew how long they'd have to pretend to get along.

"...Deal." He reluctantly agreed, knowing that this meant he couldn't pester Kid about his enemies without Kid pestering him about his own.


	4. A kidnapping

Hakuba Saguru had been out of the country for the better part of a month attending some high priority meetings and parties with his mother. He didn't dislike the parties but he certainly didn't like them either. He'd been standing next to his mother as they talked to some wealthy business man when his phone erupted, ringing loudly and forcing him to have to excuse himself to take the call. His mother would explain that he's a famous detective and that should cover for his bad manners well enough-you never know when you'll be called away to a case.

"Hello, Saguru speaking." He answered in English.

"Hakuba-kun!" The familiar voice of Nakamori Aoko sounded frantic and forced him to have to keep from getting frantic as well. Aoko hardly ever called him on this phone due to international rates-instead she preferred to text which alerted him that there must be some kind of emergency.

"Aoko-kun, are you alright?" He switched quickly to Japanese, trying to hear anything and everything going on in the background.

"I'm fine." She assured him, her voice slightly hesitant. "But Kaito's missing-I haven't seen him in nearly two days now." She confessed. Saguru paused for a moment. Two days-according to the news Kaitou Kid had had a heist on that day but never showed. Had something happened to Kuroba?

"Don't worry Aoko-kun, I'll be on the next flight to Japan." He assured her before cutting the call short. International charges weren't a problem for him but they might be for Inspector Nakamori. He stored his phone in his pocket and found his mother before explaining that something had come up and excused himself from the party. He hadn't even hailed a cab yet before his phone sprang to life once more only this time he didn't recognize the number.

"Hakuba speaking." He answered.

"Oi. Do ya have any idea how hard it was t' get yer housekeeper t' give me this number?" Someone's very annoyed voice came through the line. Saguru would recognise that accent anywhere. Saguru resisted the urge to sigh.

"Yes, I don't want just anyone in possession of my phone number. Seems I'll have to change it again." He changed his tone slightly, recognizing that this had to another emergency situation. "Well Hattori-kun, to what do I owe the… pleasure of your call?"

"I'm investigatin' a case yer thief is involved in. Ya heard on the news he didn't turn up at his heist, haven't ya?" Hattori demanded.

"Yes, I might have heard something about it. Why?"

"Kudo-I mean Conan-kun's missin' too. He's been gone fer two days and Neechan's beside herself with worry. Since ya follow the Kid case I thought ya might've known somethin'." Thankfully Hattori got right to the point. It did give the half british detective another moment of pause though- Kuroba and Conan were both missing. Considering he suspected Kuroba of being the infamous Kaitou Kid and Conan was well known for foiling his plans it made sense that they were together when they went missing. They must have gotten into some kind of trouble.

"I don't have much at present but I'll be in Japan soon. I'll call you when I do have something." He disconnected the line and was finally able to hail a cab to the airport.

oooOOOooo

"Man, I'm so ready to get going!" Ash stated as he stretched his arms and reached for the bright morning sky, Pikachu mirroring his exercises. "We've been here almost three days now and I'm ready for my next gym battle, how about you Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Ash smiled down at his partner and then looked back that Pokemon center entrance, waiting on his friends and their new travel companions but no one was coming. Ash knew that he, Dawn, and Brock had been up for a good hour now so the delay must have been with Shinichi and Conan.

"C'mon Pikachu, let's go see where everyone is." Ash trudged back into the center and saw Brock was talking to Nurse Joy with Crogunk at the ready incase he tried anything. Dawn was seated by the window and there was no sign of the other two. They could still be sleeping, could they?

He slipped passed Nurse Joy and Brock and moved over to the room he knew the others were staying in and knocked lightly. "Hello?" He called. It didn't take Shinichi long to answer the door-his hair was extremely disheveled and he had a toothbrush in hand but at least he was awake.

"Hey Shinichi, what's up?" He asked. The detective sighed and opened the door for Ash to step inside. When he did he noticed Conan was still fast asleep-sprawled all over the bed, having kicked all his blankets off.

"Conan-kun's still asleep. I know we agreed we'd leave by nine but he had a rough night so I'm going to let him sleep a little longer." Shinichi explained. Ash looked back at the sleeping kid and wondered just how rough his night could have been sleeping on a comfortable bed in the pokemon center-but then he did still have an injured shoulder so maybe he'd had a hard time getting to sleep.

"That's okay. The Pastoria Gym will still be there." He offered, feeling his impatience gnawing at him. But it wasn't like it was Conan's fault. He'd force himself to be patient. "...Is he okay?" He chanced asking. Shinichi sighed and just shook his head.

"Knowing him, he'll insist that he is." Ash would never understand why Shinichi and Conan were always so cryptic. He was about to try and press the matter when the whole building shook.

"What was that?" He glanced towards the window and got up to investigate, Pikachu following him.

"An earthquake?" Shinichi suggested.

"No way. Earthquakes are pretty rare here-A few pokemon can learn it as an attack so it could be-." Ash started just as a large metal hose like thing crashed into to the and Shinichi had barely dived out of the way as glass showered the floor. The metal hand clamped down on something and quickly retreated from the room.

"What was that?" Shinichi asked, getting quickly back to his feet and offering Ash a hand up. "You okay?"

"It's Team Rocket." He groaned.

"Prepare for Trouble!" The unmistakable voice of Jessie sounded followed sharply by another familiar voice.

"And make it double." James said his line.

"Who's Team Rocket?" Shinichi asked, not really paying too much attention to the motto.

"They're really bad guys who steal other people's pokemon!" Ash explained. Shinichi just stared at him as though trying to comprehend what he'd just said.

"That's a thing?"

"To protect the world from devastation-"

"Waaah!" Another voice interrupted.

"Meowth! Don't interrupt us while we're-"

"I hate ta cut da motto so short but we gotta a problem. Da machine didn't grab Pikachu." He pointed out. Ash and Shinichi both looked to see what they were talking about. Pikachu was still seated on Ash's shoulder so the robot had to have grabbed-

"Aw shit. Conan!" Shinichi cried out. If nurse Joy had been there she'd probably have told him off for that language.

"What the hell is this?" Conan demanded, unable to do anything but squirm against the giant robot's vice grip.

"Dis is da Mecha Meowth tirtyfive. It was meant ta capture pikachu but yous got in the way!" Meowth stated.

"Great. Since I wasn't the intended the intended catch of the day-can you put me down?" Conan asked sardonically. Too bad Ash knew Team Rocket wouldn't be that agreeable.

"I don't think so little boy." Jessie started. "You may not have been the intended target but don't think we'll just let you go."

"Yeah. Because now yous got an ultimatum-Da kid or Pikachu." Meowth stated. Conan sighed despondently.

"I don't know what an ultimatum is-" Ash stated, pulling out a pokeball. "But you won't get away with this! Staravia, use aerial ace on the mech's arm!" He shouted. The bird pokemon got ready to do just as its trainer had instructed.

"WAIT!" Shinichi cried out, throwing an arm in front of Ash. "If it breaks the arm Conan could fall-at this height that could kill him!"

"Wha-!? Kill him? Staravia! Hold up on that Aerial Ace!" Ash called out. Staravia halted mid-flight and flew back, awaiting further instruction. "What do we do?" She asked Shinichi.

"Conan's safety is top priority. So until we have a way to get him down then our hands are tied."

"But-"

"Oi!" Conan called out. "can someone just get me down?"

"So what's it going to be?" James asked. "We'll give you two hours to decide." That said, the hopped into the control center of their robot and turned about face before it stomped off into the forest.

"Shinichi, what are we going to do. There's no way I'm going to hand pikachu over to them." Ash declared.

"I wouldn't ask you to." Shinichi said flatly.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked. Shinichi just smirked and waved out the window.

"If you want him so bad, take him! But you'll be paying us to take him back, trust me!"

"What!?" Ash exclaimed. "You're letting them take him?" Shinichi shrugged and patted Pikachu on the head.

"Don't worry so much. That kid's been through a lot worse than those three." He stated vaguely, leaving Ash even more confused.

"Chaaa" Pikachu responded to the pats.

"Still. Staravia, I think you should follow." Ash said to the flying type.

"Star!" it responded before flying off.


	5. Conan Fools Team Rocket

Conan was not at all impressed. He'd been kidnapped before but never by anyone as incompetent as these three. He struggled weakly against the ropes binding him to a tree and scowled, the three of them standing over him with stupid sneers on their faces. What had he gotten himself into? He gave them a quick look over. Neither one really looked like the criminal type, they looked more like a couple of teenagers that had had no choice but to join a gang. The girl had red hair and obviously thought a lot of herself as she was wearing makeup despite the fact she probably couldn't really afford It. It wouldn't take anything at all to get on her good side-just a few compliments is all he'd need.

"So kid, what did you do to your arm?" She asked, the other two nodded behind her. What made them think he was going to tell them? He could be stubborn and remain quiet or just flat out lie. Or, an idea popped into mind, he could tell the truth and see what their reaction was. That would tell him if they were really criminals or not.

"I got shot." They weren't likely to believe him anyway. The three looked positively shocked at this and then looked at one another before back to him.

"Who would shoot a kid?" The male of the trio asked.

"Even we aren't dat cruel." The...cat said. These three were definitely not hardened criminals, they obviously just thought they were. Something he could use to his advantage.

"It really hurts! Can you loosen the rope please?" He requested in his sugary sweet little kid voice. Once again they all three looked at each other as if seeing what the others thought of the request.

"Why not? He is only a child." The redhead shrugged. The other two nodded and the bluenet moved to the other side of the tree and loosened the ropes just slightly.

"Does that feel better?" He asked.

"Mm!" Conan responded eagerly. This was too easy.

"Well Meowth, we'll leave you to guard the kid while Jessie and I work on digging that hole." The man was saying.

"Yeah, yeah. I won't let him outta my sight." Meowth promised. Jessie and the other teen started off towards the trail and Conan could just barely hear what they were talking about.

"I don't know why that guy said we'd pay to give him back-that kid is an absolute angel." He was saying. This was way too easy. Conan waited until they were well out of earshot and turned to his guard.

"Hey, I really need to use the restroom." He stated.

"Huh? Already?" Meowth asked. Conan just nodded enthusiastically. Meowth looked back in the direction the humans had gone.

"I didn't get to go this morning-Please? I really gotta!" Conan pressed further, crossing his legs for effect. Meowth finally sighed in obvious defeat-that didn't take nearly as long as he thought it would.

"Alright, alright. Just don't try anyting or I'll have ta show yas my furry swipes." He showed Conan his claws and the small boy nodded with large gulp to give the illusion of fear. Meowth untied the ropes binding Conan and the small detective got to his feet. He waited for Meowth to come back around and let him lead him into the small cabin they were apparently squatting in. It was old and the wood beneath his feet creaked-he'd have to watch that.

Meowth pushed open the bathroom door-it was in desperate need of cleaning and waited for Conan to step inside.

"I'll be just out here. So don't try ta escape or nothin'" Conan held his tongue to avoid pointing out the flaw in that statement and just nodded before shutting the door and giving the room a good look around-there was window immediately above the toilet and small cabinet below the sink. Very carefully, he climbed up onto the seat up onto the back of the toilet so he could force the window open. It would've been a lot easier if he hadn't been shot by that guy that Kid wouldn't tell him about but he was still able to do it.

oooooo

Kaito had to wonder how, even in a different world, Conan managed to continue getting into ridiculous situations like this one. He didn't exactly stalk the young detective but he did frequent the police station and seemed like he was always hearing about Conan getting kidnapped, or being taken to the hospital, or just got involved in another case. Thank Goodness for Japan's universal health care system.

It hadn't even been a full two hours since that Team Rocket kidnapped the worst possible hostage and people were trying to console him about the loss as they moved through the forest. He wasn't worried-The detective had dealt with a lot worse than those three before. He'd probably come back on his own with a sour expression on his face.

"Staravia will find them, don't you worry!" Ash was saying with enthusiasm.

"Pika!" His little partner agreed. It was either that they didn't seem notice that he wasn't worried at all or they were reassuring themselves.

"I feel bad for him though."Brock's statement caught Kaito off guard. After Conan had been nothing but a brat to everyone? The ones he felt bad for were that team rocket gang. They had no idea what they'd just gotten themselves into.

"You do?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Well sure." Brock nodded. "He's in an unfamiliar land, and now stuck with team rocket. You're the one that said he's skittish around new people, right?" All of that was certainly true but he doubted if the detective was uncomfortable, probably just annoyed. He can practically see that annoyed look he got when dealing with anyone that he didn't see as intelligent as himself, which happened to be a large majority.

"I wouldn't worry." Kaito waved it off. "He's probably already escaped."

As if on cue, the large bird like animal swooped down and stopped front of them, making a frantic noise and gesturing with its wing. Ash stepped up to listen to what it had to say. Kaito watched with interest-he'd been there over three days now and still he wasn't quite used to the new environment.

"Starravia says they're this way!" Ash called out, starting off at a run, the others following close behind. He'd have kept running right off into a large hole if Kaito hadn't noticed and reached out to grab his arm. He let out a sigh when the danger had passed and chanced looking down it only to see that team rocket gang stuck at the bottom. He checked quickly and saw no sign of Conan.

"It's Team Rocket!" Ash and and his friends said unison.

"What happened to you guys?" Dawn called down to them. The trio groaned.

"It's all that little brat's fault!" Jessie stated, clearly unhappy.

"He tricked us!" James followed up. Kaito couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, he does that." He offered, unhelpfully. "Now, where is he?" He asked.

"We'll help you out once you've told us." Brock offered. That was being generous. The thief could see several points along the wall of the hole that they would easily be able to climb up.

"We don't know." Jessie stated stubbornly. "He escaped out the window." she huffed. Kaito wasn't the least bit surprised to hear this and shook his head.

"No he didn't." He stated bluntly. "He would never be so obvious. Not to mention he probably couldn't climb with his arm in a sling like it is."

"I was dere! He asked if he could use da restroom and then when I went ta check on him, da window was open. He musta climbed out." Meowth stated, sounding irritated that Kaito didn't believe him.

"Oh, I fully believe he opened the window." Kaito said with a slight grin. "I just don't think he left that way."

"How else would he have left?" Meowth demanded. "He didn't go out da door."

"Yes he did." Kaito said simply. "He waited for you to think he escaped out the window and after you left, he crawled out of his hiding spot and left out the front door."

"That little brat made fools of us..." James growled. Again, Kaito wasn't surprised but the others seemed to be.

"Conan sounds really smart!" Dawn remarked. Kaito repressed a small chuckle. Oh, they had no idea.

"But that does beg the question-" Brock started. "If Conan escaped, then where did he go?" That was the question. Considering that Kudou had all sorts of ways to stop himself from getting lost, Kaito was sure that he was probably on his way back to that Pokemon Center. The reason they hadn't run into him on the road was likely because he stayed hidden.

Or, he realised who it was that was missing, he might have gotten himself in even more trouble. Damn, they might need to look for him again after all.


End file.
